Hello Romans! Well, you know what I mean. This author's note is important: I never mentioned this, but the events that took place in the Roman camp take place some time before the Greek chapters, so that they'd all be at Mt. Washington at the same time. In addition, there is another time skip here.

I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I'm not Rick Riordan.

Lila was running after Emblem and Mike. They had run far ahead of her because they said she was "moody." She didn't want to be left behind, despite her uncaring attitude. She wanted to be on this "quest." She wanted to be with them, because they were the closest things she had to friends. And she didn't want to be lost in the woods of Vermont. She didn't hate the woods, but getting lost is boring. As Lila raced after the two, she thought about why she was acting moody, and why it was not her fault. She had shadowed traveled twice within the past 24 hours, so of course she would be tired. And when Lila was tired, she was moody. As well as when awake… Lila wondered why she even wanted to join this quest when the rest of the quest members disliked her entire personality. Sure they wouldn't have lasted past the first week without her, but still… Lila thought back to when she finally caught up with them.

"MIKE! MIKE! WHERE ARE YOU?" Lila could hear Emblem's frantic calls from half a mile away. The cries and cawing of the birds Lila could see flocking above did not sound natural to Lila. The sky was filled with hundreds of them. Lila couldn't see the sun for long periods of time while they were flocking, and but there was enough light reflecting of their shiny beaks. Lila followed the sound of Emblem's cries to a small clearing. Lila could see the sun clearly now, but only because the birds were diving down to attack Emblem. She could tell what they were now: Stymphalian Birds. Lila ran over to Emblem's side, trying to make sure that she was okay, while trying to use her shield to block away the birds. Emblem was bleeding and had numerous cuts, but she just kept screaming for Mike. Lila looked around to see an even worse Mike lying halfway across the clearing. As Lila turned to go inspect his injuries, she felt a bronze beak pierce her armor and go into her back. Trying to fight off the pain, she ran over to Mike. Mike was breathing heavily, and he was also bleeding all over. Lila could see now way out of the fight, what with the birds swarming the skies. There was really nothing that could be done to help either Mike or Emblem while the birds were surrounding them so… Lila decided to be stupid. She hauled Mike over to Emblem, and while holding on to both of them by the hands, Lila shadow traveled away from the scene, as far away she could.

That had been a few weeks ago. It had taken some time for Lila to nurse them back to health, and even more time for Lila to get the over their paranoia. Now the were thousands of miles away from the bronze-beaked birds and about to cross the border into New Hampshire. Emblem had figured out that Adrian, Mimi, and James were headed to Mt. Washington. Which was very convenient for Lila, considering that that's where SHE was going as well.

"Come on guys! How lost can we be? I'm sure that we haven't seen this tree before. I mean, I don't remember seeing a fallen tree before." "Adrian, that's because the last time we passed, you chopped it down, but didn't stick around to see it fall." Adrian, Mimi and James were lost somewhere at the base of Mt. Washington. Adrian couldn't believe that they had managed to get lost, considering that there were lots and lots of towns surrounding Mt. Washington. But the three had managed to get lost in the woods apparently in the section that both is miles away from any town, and where you are forced to walk in circles. It had gone dark long ago, and Adrian's flashlight was slowly running out of batteries. They had no idea what time it was, they couldn't find anyone to ask directions of, and they were very, very tired. They refused to stop though. They had been running from Procris up until they got lost in these woods, and they were still wary of her imminent arrival. They had been fast enough so far that they had been able to outrun her before she was ever able to throw her javelin or command her dog, but their luck could change at any moment.

Mimi was the first to talk logically, "If we continue walking for hours, we won't get any sleep, then we won't be able to face anything, let alone a dog that never fails to catch its prey. We should rest while we can. Instead of looking for a town, why don't we look for shelter? That's a lot easier. I saw a few caves while we were walking in circles. They were empty and should be safe." Adrian sighed. He did not want to give up looking, but Mimi was right. He turned to James, "Your thoughts on this?" James said quietly, "Mimi is right. We should find shelter. It's not safe being out here for too long. " Adrian nodded, then said, "Well, Mimi, do you remember where about you found the caves?"

Emblem was amazed by the sight of it. Mt. Washington was so big! It was noting compared to the Rockies, but it was enough to make Emblem gasp. She took a step towards it unknowingly, and onto a road. She was only half aware of the car coming along until it almost hit her. She jumped back and yelled at the car, "Hey! Watch where you're going! You almost hit me!" Whoever was drivig the car ignored her, but a girl with auburn hair and a girl with curly hazel hair watched out the back of the car, and saw her yelling. Emblem saw their eyes widen before she went out of view, and Emblem could only guess at what they saw. Looking back at her comrades, Emblem saw Mike looking like he was about to punch the car, and Lila had drawn her Imperial Gold blade, Knight of the Night. Emblem told her, "Lila, why'd you draw your sword?" Lila slowly put the blade away, "Sorry. I get paranoid." Emblem said, "That's fine. We all do." Looking back at the mountain, Emblem could swear she saw a bird, possibly one with a shining beak, "We all do."

Ooooooo… Not quite a cliff hanger, but I wonder if anyone will make the connection that I put in this chapter. If you don't realize, this is the second chapter in which I've sort of crossed over the Romans and the Greeks. Who do you think was in the car? If you read the greek chapters, you'll know who the hazel haired girl is, and you'll know who the auburn haired girl is if you've read the Greek and Roman chapters. Ta ta!